Sick And Tired
by TheKoganKid
Summary: How I wanted the ending of Welcome Back Dusker to go. Ethan and Benny return to Ethan's and as Ethan takes a shower, Benny breaks down. Bethan slash! Warning : spoilers for the second season opener.


**I'm back again :D I just saw the first episode of the second season, and DAMN IT WAS AMAZING. I was just screaming and crying the entire time, and my dad was like ogling at me because I was like, "OMFG LOOK HOW CUTE MATTHEW AND ATTICUS LOOK! AJSDNAGND;" So, it was a rather eventful hour in my house (an hour because I watched ReVamped before the new episode) and I hope the neighbors don't hate me. And after I saw the Breath get Ethan, my mind plotted out this cute like Bethan one-shot almost instantly. So, here you go :) Also, was I the only dumbass who didn't know that they and the show were Canadian? I was staring at my computer, thinking 'mind = blown'. Sorry if this story has some mistakes in it. I forgot some of the details from the episode all ready since I've only seen it once. I might watch it again later, so if I find anything big, I'll fix it.**

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He hadn't remembered much from his second near-death expirience; all he could recall properly was shaking the witch jar at the Breath of Death, luring it away from the council, and then tripping and falling backwards onto the ground. And then his vision was consumed with the eerie green hue the Breath carried, and suddenly it was as if his body functions had shut down at once. He remembered standing, an animalistic growl ripping from his throat, and then he threw himself forwards onto someone shrieking his name. Half of him had given into the Breath as soon as it had entered his system, it's existance coiling itself around his soul, but the other half of him protested and tried to pry the Breath away fruitlessly. He could recall someone running behind him with a tin can, shovling stuff into it, before an incredibly familiar voice behind him was shouting words of latin origin at him. And as soon as the Breath had entered him, it was gone, leaving him shakey-kneed and reeking of eggs.

When asked, Ethan had told Benny and Sarah that he was okay, but really, the Breath had left him rather weak. Gripping onto his taller friend for support, he sucked air into his screaming lungs and tried to shove away the dizziness threatening to overwhelm him. He was vaguely aware of people talking around him, the small yet viscious vampire countess regarding them and asking for Dirk's autograph, and they were finally able to go home.

Standing up when he was drained of energy was one thing, but trying to walk was another. Ethan stumbled many times trying to walk out of the council's chamber, his legs becoming jumbled masses of limbs underneath his body, and even Benny's arm around his waist did nothing to keep from falling onto the floor, face first. So Benny dicided that the attempt to walk was to be thrown out the window, and he picked the exhausted and disorientated boy off of the floor, bridal style, carrying him the rest of the way outside like that. Ethan was hardly the type to protest, and instead of feeling foolish for being carried like a child, he groaned miserably and tucked himself further into Benny's neck, his hands clutching the front of his jacket. And even through the thick fog in his head, Ethan could recognize his friend's heart thrashing against his fingertips in fright from what had just occured in the council hall.

He learned later on when they'd gotten home that he'd been posessed by the Breath of Death, and that in his exorscism state, he had attacked Sarah as if she'd punched him in the face. At the discription of their fight becoming more in depth, Ethan felt his cheeks flushing in embarrassment, his heart dropping and face becoming more and more like a kicked puppy with every word. When they concluded the tale of the fight, Ethan had groaned again and appologized to Sarah with everything inside of him. She only laughed at him, and made him promise that he wouldn't get too worked up over it since he didn't cause her any collateral damage; she did, as they all remember, bring them along to battle Jesse at the dance and she was the reason Ethan was nearly turned into a vampire. So Ethan reminded Sarah that he still didn't blame her for it, smiling sheepishly, and they both let their faults drop as Sarah flew home and Ethan hopped in the shower to scrub off the fatigue and discusting sulfur smell that seemed to be sunken into his skin.

While he was washing, Benny stayed behind in his room, standing at his window, hands against the sill and his mind racing. Staring out into the bleak night, all he could see was image after image of Ethan being hurt in their misadventure adventures. He thought of the time he'd seen Ethan standing in front of Jesse, frozen to the spot in shock as the vampire moved in to kill him, before he'd jumped in and saved him. Or the time when Whitechapel had been taken over by zombies, and Benny feared Ethan's safety amungst the flesh-eaters more than his own, even though he was the one who ended up getting bit. Even the time when Debbie Dazzle had sucked out some of his energy and left him staggering by the island, Benny was frightened stiff at the thought of anything hurting Ethan. And now, standing by the glass of his window, all he could hear echoing in his mind was the gasp and mewls Ethan had let out after he'd been bitten by Jesse, the vampire's venom burning its way through his veins and directly to his regressing heart. The memory was making his chest ache terribly, and he wished with everything he was that he could go back to that night and change the way things had happened; maybe he could of avoided the haunting sound of his best friend struggling to keep himself sane through the agony of the venom. And just that afternoon, since he'd been acting rediculous once again, instead of looking out for the person he cared the most for, he'd gotten hurt again and ended up on the floor, writhing in pain and letting little whisps of it past his mouth.

The recollection of Ethan's eyes glowing a sickly green color, the Breath of Death streaming out of his mouth and into the witch jar with his body convulsing on the ground was enough to make Benny's eyes sting with tears, and he gritted his teeth together in order to hold them back.

Suddenly, a thin but firm pair of arms wrapped themselves around his mid-section and pulled him close, the person's head gentley resting against the middle of his back. He knew almost at once who it was, and the reminder that they scarcely made it through the year forced a dry sob out of his throat.

"It wasn't your fault, Ben." Ethan murmured, nuzzling his nose and cheek inbetween his shoulder blades.

"Yes it was." Benny whispered fiercely, voice quivering dangerously. "If I had paid attention to what I was doing instead of trying to be a smartass, you wouldn't have gotten possessed."

"It wasn't that big a deal. Honestly, Benny."

"_Wasn't that big a deal_?" Benny turned from the window to face Ethan, an incredious look smeared onto his heartbroken face. "Ethan, you almost died! _Again_! How can you brush something like this off? You were almost killed by a black magic curse because I decided to be funny when I was supposed to be controlling the witch jar and casting the right spell. That's not nothing to me."

"But you didn't mean to do it, Benny. That's my point." Ethan re-situated his arms around Benny's ribcage, hugging the taller boy to him and willing him to calm down with his eyes, which were wide and glittering. "I know you didn't purposely let it happen to me, and I know that it set us back a step because you were fooling around. But you fixed the problem, right? That's all that matters, is the fact that you saved me from it."

"But what if I hadn't?" Benny asked. "What if I hadn't been able to scoop up everything into the jar? Or if I had forgotten the words to the spell? You... you wouldn't be- oh God." Benny was cut off in the middle of his sentence by another sob, his thoughts encased with pictures of Ethan laying, dead, on the floor of the vampire's council hall.

Ethan shushed him, pulling Benny completely against him in a comforting and loving hug. Benny curled his arms around Ethan's shoulders, crushing the fragile teenager to him in means of protecting him, tears streaming down his face and chest racking with sobs. His shoulders heaved as Ethan's hands traced over them lightly, trying and failing to calm him down, and he just let all of his pent up emotion out onto the now slightly chapped skin of Ethan's neck.

"That's just it, Ben. I am still here, right in front of you. That's what matters most. We can keep coming up with 'what-ifs' and different senerios of what could have happened, but it's pointless, because it turned out the way it did and I'm still well and alive." Ethan murmured in his ear, resting their temples together.

Benny sucked in a shaking breath, trying to keep back the whimper that wanted to leave him, and he held Ethan tighter to him. "I'm just sick and tired of seeing you get hurt, E."

"Getting hurt's part of the job, Benny. We knew that even back when we weren't known as the bounty hunters of Whitechapel from the first time we found out Sarah was a vampire. Fighting the supernatural isn't exactly the safest job in the world."

"But I don't think causing the death of your closest friend counts." Benny sniffled.

"No," Ethan agreed, pulling Benny from his neck in order to look at him again. "But it happens, and that's the risk we have to take in order to keep everyone else safe. I don't blame you, Sarah doesn't blame you, Erica doesn't blame you, and Rory doesn't blame you. So stop beating yourself up over this. It was an honest mistake, but you fixed it."

Benny looked at Ethan with hesitation, showing that he didn't fully believe Ethan was okay with their situation in the way his eyebrows creased upwards like wings. His cheeks were bright red and coated in wetness, making him look small even though he was the taller of the two.

"I'm just so unbelievably sorry that I didn't pay attention, and I let you get hurt, Ethan."

"Don't be." Ethan grinned at Benny, before cupping his face inbetween his hands. "It's okay that I got hurt a couple of times. You know why?"

"Hm?"

"_The scars remind that me that the past is real_." Ethan sang softly, trying and failing to like the band who sang the song he was quoting.

Benny laughed quietly, Ethan's favorite smile of his appearing on his face like magic. "You know, Ethan, that's what I love about you most. Even in the darkest of times like this, you manage to be a geek."

"Always have been, always will be." Ethan chuckled.

He drew Benny downwards to him, capturing the taller boy's lips in a sweet, body-warming kiss that made Benny's sadness melt away for a moment as Ethan's thumbs wiped away the tears on his face. Benny's arms tightened around his hips, hands sneaking under his shirt, and he kissed his boyfriend back with such emotion that Ethan was sure his knees were going to buckle beneath himself. For even a mere second in the long hours of life, they both forgot about their troubles, their worries, and their anguish as their lips moved together in a beautiful dance of love and sincerity.

"C'mon." Ethan murmured, pulling his mouth away from Benny's with a small smacking sound. "Let's go to bed. I'm still really tired from today."

Benny smiled at Ethan, his eyes dancing, and he let himself be guided over to Ethan's familiar bed by the owner himself without a single disagreement flying through his head. Crawling achingly under the covers, Benny laid down first against a pillow, and Ethan followed suit, snuggling up to Benny's side after clicking his lamp off.

"Hey, Benny?" Ethan inquired, burrowing into Benny's neck, left arm tucked up on his chest.

"Yeah, E?" Benny whispered back, his fingers slipping through Ethan's still damp and curling hair.

Ethan sighed, relaxing under Benny's touch. "The next time we do run into trouble, can you at least pay a little more attention to what you're doing? Me getting a little unbalanced is one thing, but you disfunctioning in the middle of an important battle is something entirely different."

Benny laughed at that comment, the vibration of his body making Ethan's fingers and face tingle with delight.

"I promise."

**A/N: Sorry for the crappy ending -_- I'm a bit tired myself. And it's rather difficult trying to write a cute Bethan fic at midnight (AH! It just turned 12:34!) while also watching **_**Titanic**_**. Apparently, it's challenge yourself day. So, anyways, I hoped you guys liked this and loved the new episode as much as I did. Oh, and just like Benny in Guys And Dolls, I wrote this in about three hours, and I had to pee the **_**entire**_** time!**


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